February 13, 2010

My friend in the North

Just spotted the quote from my original email. Since then I was fired (without warning, representation, 'appraisal' or even any meetings since the first week of employment).

Reasons given:

- I wasn't spending enough time with the 'trainees' - I explained the absurd audit/CRB/risk assessment/evaluation trail that I had to keep up with, but apparently this meant I should have worked about ten more hours than contracted, like my far more desperate, scared and eager to please counterpart did. Or failing that, I wasn't related to the staunchly 'socialist' bosses like most of the employees (and quite a few trainees) were. 'Activism' or 'professionalised' left-wing politics does often seem to descend into crude nepotism, lazy corruption and the idea that wooing westminster purse-carriers is the way to emancipation. But maybe that's just a Northern thing (this hasn't challenged my political beliefs, just any faith in those who claim to 'lead' them). Yes - new networks (even 'orthodoxies') are required for the left to lift itself above the level of a deeply compromised 'club' in this country.

- I kept 'asking too many questions' - I asked about a question a week (no meetings or appraisals, right?) and usually only to clear any policy/legal muddiness (that wasn't really answered anyway). Yes - 9 to 5 did feel like Jason Bourne in a Kubrick movie written by Kafka - my failure was not pretending to 'know'.